The invention relates generally to supplementing broadcast television programming with information of interest to broadcast viewers. More specifically, the invention relates to broadcasting television enhancements addressed to several differently addressed information resources.
The Internet is a worldwide collection of networks and gateways. The Internet includes a backbone of high-speed data communication lines between major nodes, consisting of thousands of commercial, government, educational, and other computer systems that route data and messages. The World Wide Web (the Web) is a collection of formatted hypertext pages located on numerous computer systems around the world that are logically connected by the Internet. The Web has become a valuable resource for information relating many subjects.
Web browsersxe2x80x94software providing user interfaces to the Webxe2x80x94allow individuals to access Internet content from personal computers. Internet terminals, such as those pioneered by WebTV Networks, Inc., the assignee of the present invention, have made the Web accessible to an even larger segment of the population by providing Web access without a personal computer. Internet terminals (commonly referred to as set-top boxes) provide Web access using an ordinary television (TV) set as a display and a remote control or wireless keyboard for user input.
FIG. 1 (prior art) illustrates a basic configuration of an Internet system and broadcast television network 100. Network 100 includes a pair of clients 110 and a receiver/client 112. Receiver/client 112 is so named because it operates both as a television receiver and as an Internet client. Hereafter, receiver/client 112 is referred to as receiver 112 for simplicity.
Clients 110 and receiver 112 are coupled to a modem pool 120 via direct-dial, bi-directional data connections 130 (which may be telephone (POTS, i.e., xe2x80x9cplain old telephone servicexe2x80x9d), cable, satellite forward channels, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), or any other similar type of connection. Modem pool 120 is typically coupled to a number of remote servers 140 via a network infrastructure, such as the Internet 160. An additional server 150 specifically supports receiver 112.
Clients 110 and receiver 112 communicate bi-directionally with servers 140 and 150 through modem pool 120 and the Internet 160. Modem pool 120 is typical of those found today throughout the world providing access to the Internet and private networks. In addition to communicating with servers 140 and 150, receiver 112 receives broadcast data and video from a broadcast television network 170 via, e.g., antennas 175 or a cable network (not shown).
FIG. 2 (prior art) illustrates an embodiment of receiver 112. Receiver 112 includes set-top box 200, an ordinary analog television set 210, and a remote control 220. Set-top box 200 may be integrated with television set 210. Television set 210 displays video data, including a graphical user interface, conveyed from set-top box 200 by a video link 230. Video link 230 is an RF (radio frequency), S-video, composite video, or other video link.
Set-top box 200 includes hardware and software for receiving and decoding a broadcast video signal 240, such as an NTSC, PAL, SECAM, or other TV system video signal, and for providing video data to the television set via video link 230. Set-top box 200 also includes hardware and/or software for providing a user with a graphical user interface 250 capable of displaying Web pages (e.g., HTML or XML pages) and broadcast video. User interface 250 can notify the user of the presence of encoded data embedded in the video signal. The notification may be audible, visual, or a combination of the two. For example, user interface 250 might temporarily display an icon in a portion of the screen.
Set-top box 200 may include both a standard modem and an ISDN modem, such that the communication link between set-top box 200 and server 150 (FIG. 1) can be either a telephone (POTS) connection 260 or an ISDN connection 270. Set-top box 200 receives power through a power line 280.
A user operates remote control 220 to control set-top box 200 in browsing the Web, sending e-mail, and performing other Internet-related functions. Set-top box 200 receives commands from remote control 220 via an infrared (IR) communication link 290. A keyboard (not shown) may also be included.
For a more detailed discussion of receiver 112, see related U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/287,985 entitled xe2x80x9cCommunicating Scripts in a Data Service Channel of a Video Signal,xe2x80x9d f by Dean J. Blackketter and Daniel J. Zigmond, filed Apr. 7, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 3 illustrates a communication system 300, including a content provider 302 and two content receivers 304 and 306. Content provider 302 includes two content sources, a web server 308 and a broadcast signal source 310. Content provider 302 communicates information to receivers 304 and 306 from web server 308 via the Internet 312 and from signal source 310 via a broadcast signal 314. Internet 312 is understood to include all modems, lines, and other intervening components required to communicate between server 308 and receivers 304 and 306.
Each of receivers 304 and 306 is configured to display Web pages, broadcast television, or both. Web pages are typically downloaded over the Internet, but may also be received from a broadcast television signal or retrieved from a local memory source, such as a disk drive. In each case, however, the Web pages are stored locally on the receivers.
Receiver 304 displays a broadcast weather show 316 along with an associated weather page 318. Receiver 306 displays a broadcast baseball game 320 and an associated sports page 322. Sports page 322 includes links 324 that provide viewers access to language-specific Web pages offering additional information to enhance the experience of watching broadcast baseball game 320. When one of links 324 is activated, as by selecting the link using a mouse or other pointing device, receiver 306 displays baseball game 320 in conjunction with a language-specific page that provides information specific to the game. Receiver 306 is depicted with three language-specific examples: an English-language specific page 326, a Spanish-language specific page 328, and a German-language specific page 330.
Each of pages 326, 328, and 330 includes a sponsor field 332 and a score field 334. These fields are identified in the language of choice, and can be modified, or xe2x80x9cenhanced,xe2x80x9d in response to an enhancement trigger received from content provider 302 either via broadcast signal 314 or Internet 320. Sports pages 326, 328, and 330 can thus be synchronized with baseball game 320.
In the present example, content provider 302 maintains Web content for enhancing broadcast television shows at xe2x80x9chttp://www.broadcaster.com/xe2x80x9d (www.broadcaster.com) on server 308. Www.broadcaster.com has various directory levels that include content specific to particular broadcast television channels and to particular Web pages associated with those channels. In the example, www.broadcaster.com includes a subdirectory xe2x80x9cprogramsxe2x80x9d that in turn includes both xe2x80x9csportsxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cnewsxe2x80x9d subdirectories. The xe2x80x9cnewsxe2x80x9d subdirectory includes a xe2x80x9cweatherxe2x80x9d subdirectory with the requisite information to display weather page 318. The universal resource identifier, or URI, for weather page 318 is: xe2x80x9chttp://www.broadcaster.com/programs/weather/xe2x80x9d.
Sports page 322 and language-specific pages 326, 328, and 330 are similarly specified in the subdirectories of www.broadcaster.com.
1. The URI for sports page 322 is xe2x80x9chttp://www.broadcaster.com/programs/sports/xe2x80x9d.
2. The URI for English-language page 326 is xe2x80x9chttp://www.broadcaster.com/programs/sports/english.htmlxe2x80x9d.
3. The URI for Spanish-language page 328 is xe2x80x9chttp://www.broadcaster.com/programs/sports/spanish.htmlxe2x80x9d.
4. The URI for German-language page 326 is xe2x80x9chttp://www.broadcaster.com/programs/sports/german.htmlxe2x80x9d.
Content provider 302 can update the information on any of pages 318, 322, 326, 328, and 330 by directing an enhancement trigger to the specified page. For example, the displayed score on page 334 might be updated by broadcasting the following enhancement trigger:
 less than http://www.broadcaster.com/programs/sports/english.html greater than  [script:score(4,7)][95f6]
where the first portion (in angle brackets) is the URI, the second portion (in brackets) is script to be conveyed to the targeted Web page, and the third portion (in brackets) is a checksum. Enhancement-trigger syntax and function are discussed below. For a more detailed treatment of the use of such triggers, see the above-incorporated application entitled xe2x80x9cCommunicating Scripts in a Data Service Channel of a Video Signal,xe2x80x9d by Daniel J. Zigmond and Dean J. Blackketter.
Enhancement triggers are typically broadcast in a data service channel of a broadcast video signal. Unfortunately, such service channels typically offer limited bandwidth. Broadcasting complex enhancements can therefore be time consuming, particularly when a number of uniquely addressed Web pages require updating. For example, each language-specific sports page 326, 328, and 330 would require separate enhancement triggers to update their respective score and sponsor fields 334 and 332. There is therefore a need for a means of reducing the bandwidth required to update, or enhance, collections of related Web pages.
The present invention is directed to methods and apparatus for reducing the bandwidth required to enhance two or more differently addressed information resources, such as Web pages. In accordance with the invention, a content creator, (e.g., a program producer, broadcaster, affiliate, cable company, or satellite provider), embeds an enhancement trigger in a data service channel of a broadcast video signal. The embedded enhancement trigger includes a collective resource identifier that identifies a collection of unique information resources. The enhancement trigger, so directed, is capable of enhancing a number of related or unrelated information resources. For example, a content creator can update several unique Web pages simultaneously using a single enhancement trigger.
The enhancement triggers are broadcast in the data service channel of a broadcast video signal. Each receiver adapted to interpret trigger content begins with an information resource, such as a Web page, resident in memory. The receiver can obtain such a resource via the Internet, broadcast video, or from local storage. The receiver tunes into a selected broadcast signal and monitors the data service channel of that signal for enhancement triggers that are addressed to the unique information resource resident on the receiver or to a collection of information resources that include the information resource resident on the receiver. Upon receipt of such an enhancement trigger, the receiver executes the enhancement contained within the trigger to alter the information resource and/or displayed video defined by the resource. In this way, a single enhancement trigger affects a change in two or more information resources.
Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.